


Ghosts

by rustycandiedmothballs



Category: None - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:29:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27329578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rustycandiedmothballs/pseuds/rustycandiedmothballs
Summary: James Castro wakes up in a locked room with another boy he doesn’t know. After he escapes he wants to find who tried to kidnap them and why they were connected.





	1. This Is Where We Are

“STOP IT! PLEASE GO AWAY! JUST GO AWAY!” He was backed into a corner, curled up into a tiny ball, teeth clenched as tears ran down his face. For a while there would be no sounds except his rapid breathing, and then would come a sudden cry or scream as he became more and more agitated. 

On the other side of the room was another boy, tied to a chair and presumably unconscious or faking well. The boy in the chair exhaled the tiniest bit, making a small noise, sending the other into another outburst. This time not words, just a sort of whimpering yell as he shook violently. 

The boy in the chair dared to crack open his eyes just a slit, scared out of his mind. He had assumed the screams were coming from another victim, but was shocked to see that nobody was near the boy. It was just them in the room, seemingly nothing to provoke the sort of wild panic that he was showing. Tears and yells for help he understood, but not this. It was beginning to scare him. 

The boy was about to try to untie himself when the other suddenly lifted his head, eyes wide and bloodshot. He was staring, screaming. He wasn’t looking at the boy in the chair, but at something only he could see or comprehend. The scream rang in his ears painfully until there was a sudden silence as the boy crumpled to the floor. 

After a long moment of shock, the boy in the chair hurriedly snatched again at the knots binding him to the chair. They weren’t very strong, and he was free in minutes. 

He rushed over to the other boy to see what he could do. For a moment he feared that he was dead, but then he saw the boys chest rise and fall. He breathed a sigh of relief. If he was going to escape, he was going to need help. Although he would have chosen a more sane looking person, he would take what he could get. 

“Are you awake? It’s safe, nobody else is here,” he whispered, “so you can talk.” There was no response. 

He took a moment to look around the room. It was made of some sort of concrete or cement, except for the windows and door. The door was metal, with peeling paint the lovely hue of cat vomit. The windows were either clear plastic or glass, and something outside was preventing any light from coming in. The room was lit by fluorescent lights on the ceiling, the humming seeming loud now that nobody was screaming. He assumed the easiest way out would be a window, as the door looked too sturdy. 

He walked over to the window and tapped on it gently. Glass. The chair he had been tied to could break it. He wanted to plan before doing anything rash. He sat down for a moment before a thought occurred to him.

“Air. How are we getting air if the room is closed off,” he muttered standing up to pace the room. “Air vents. They have to be somewhere.” He looked around the walls and spotted the vent in the left corner of the ceiling. 

Convenient. All he needed was to grow seven feet. He cursed under his breath. He would need a new plan, or at least a good ladder. 

He walked slowly back over to the other boy and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor next to him. He put his head into his hands and began to cry. 

He would never get out. Never see his sisters and dog again, never finish reading the Harry Potter books, never sit and drink milkshakes at chic fil a with his friends again. He gave a soft chuckle. All the things left to do in life, college, dates, jobs, and he was sad about milkshakes and books. That was the last thought in his head when the door flew open with a bang.

He screamed and scrambled to his feet. He was grabbed roughly by the shoulders. He kicked and screamed until he saw the uniform of the man holding him. It was a police officer. He saw another lift up the other boy. They were carried out to an ambulance waiting. By the time they got there he was crying his eyes out. 

He almost forgot about the other boy until he woke up in the back of the ambulance and saw him a few feet away, still not moving. He had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, making him look a little less crazy. He had never seen a person wearing an oxygen mask before, and it was sort of scary. 

[I’m switching to the boy who was in the chair’s pov here because it makes more sense and easier to write]

The boy opened his eyes slightly and then widened as he tried to see where he was. He turned his head side to side and thrashed around as the doctors surrounded him. I couldn’t see what they were doing, but I heard them talking to him, trying to calm him down, and his muffled screams in response.

Eventually his screams turned to quiet sniffles and whimpering. I turned to look at him once the doctors left. His eyes were screwed tightly shut and his fists were clenched at his sides.

“It’ll be okay,” I wasn’t sure why I said it, I didn’t know if it would be okay but I wanted to comfort him. “We’re out of there, we’ll be fine.” It sounded false. I knew it and I’m sure he did too, but he didn’t correct me.

“I’m Jamie. From Colorado. But I live in Virginia.” I didn’t think he would respond, he hasn’t said anything to me not counting screams. I’m surprised when he replies somewhere between a whisper and a mutter, “Isaac. From North Carolina. I live in Virginia too.” I want to ask him more but I don’t think he wants to talk. 

I last about ten seconds before I blurt out; “How old are you?” He looks bothered but it’s hard to tell. I need to learn to stop talking. “I’m fifteen,” he says, still not looking at me. “Me too! When-“ I break off. If I keep bothering him he won’t want to help me, much less be friends.

The ride to the hospital in quiet from there. I think he’s fallen asleep but I can’t see his face. We’ve been in here for a long time. I realize that we must be far away. I haven’t heard a single car, and since we haven’t stopped we must be nowhere near a hospital. Where are we?


	2. The Unfolding of Isaac

The quiet of the ambulance meets a sudden stop when we arrive. The police and doctors want to know everything that happened. The doctors insist that they need to speak to us first, and the police back off for now.

Except for bruises on my arms and legs from being tied up, I’m not hurt. They promise me that I’ll be able to go back home soon. Once they are sure that I’m not hurt, the police come in and start asking their questions. It’s harder than the doctor’s questions.

First are the simple questions, what is your name (James Castro), where do you live (1289 Fairway Lane, VA Beach), what is a parent’s number (XXX-XXX-XXXX), and a few more. They go pretty quickly. Then comes the less simple ones.

”Can you tell us what happened and how you got to that room?” The officer asks. “There was - well, before that it was just - I don’t really - “ I’m having a hard time getting the words out. “How about we start at the beginning. When were you last at home?” He talks to me like I’m a little kid, which makes me mad, but the simpler questions help so I don’t say anything. 

“The day before yesterday, I think. It - Well, I’m not sure if it’s been a day or two. I think two.” He nods and continues, “What happened the last day you were at home?” “It was pretty normal, for the first part. I mostly stayed inside. Me and my friends agreed to meet at the movie theater.” I pause. “I left the house at around one in the afternoon. My sister was going to drive me but I told her I could walk. It wasn’t far away.” I stop. 

A moment of quiet passes before the officer prompts me, “Did you make it to the theater?” I shake my head. “What happened on the way there?” I think for a moment before answering. “I heard someone yelling around the corner. It sounded scary, not just some people fighting. So I went another way. It was a little longer. I had to go into an alley to get there. On the other side of the alley there was a car. I remember thinking it was a really nice car.” I sit back. The officer looks at me. “What happened then?” 

I look up at him. “That’s all. Then we were there.” I try to keep my voice from sounding like a scared kid’s. “Isaac was in the corner. He wasn’t tied up. I thought we were gonna die.” I bury my face in my hands, hating the tears that threaten to spill. The police officer awkwardly pats my shoulder and clears his throat. “Can you describe the car you saw? If you need I can come back later.” The last thing I want is to have to do this again. “A black 2014 Porsche 911. LED headlights, turbo wheels, custom grille, the whole shebang.” He looks at me funny. “Did you happen to notice the license plate?” “No, I wasn’t looking.” I say. “You sure got a good look at the rest of it.” I give him a confused look. “If you’d seen the car, you would t be looking at the license plate. It was a beautiful car, I was focused on that.” He still seems confused. I don’t think he likes cars.

My dad won’t pick up. That scares me a little. His son has been missing for two days and he doesn’t pick up the phone for the police or me. I’m getting mad. I was kidnapped, rescued, questioned, and I’m finally allowed to go home, but they won’t answer. 

A while later, my dad picks up. I want to talk to him but the police have to first. I tune them out as they tell him what happened and that I am safe. I finally get to talk to him. My anger fades when I hear how scared he is. He has to go so he can drive here. I ask how long, and I nearly throw the phone when he says it will take him around seven hours to get from Virginia Beach to West Virginia where I am. He hangs up and I sit in a chair, waiting for him to arrive.

A while later I realize that Isaac hasn’t come out of the room he was in yet. I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s four in the morning. I’m tired but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep. Maybe I could just close my eyes for a few minutes to see if that helps...

My eyes fly open and I sit up suddenly, my neck cracking painfully. The clock reads 9:07. I slept for five hours. Still three hours until my dad is supposed to get here. I look to my left and see Isaac a few seats down. 

I’m surprised he’s still here, but then I remember that only two hours passed from when I first tried to call my dad and when he picked up, meaning if Isaac’s parents immediately picked up they still wouldn’t be here for another hour.

He’s playing with a pen, spinning it around in his fingers. His eyes were focused intently on it and narrowed as he spun it faster and faster. 

I don’t know what to make of him. I am grateful that he was in their with me, even though all he really did was scream and pass out if I’m going to be honest. I don’t blame him for being scared at all, I was too. I just... it didn’t seem like being kidnapped was what scared him. When he screamed he was looking at something. I don’t know what it was because there was nothing but me in the room, and he wasn’t looking at me. 

The time before that I didn’t know what was happening, I was still trying to pretend to be unconscious. He screamed at someone to go away. I don’t think anyone was in the room. I didn’t hear the door open or close. I look at him out of the corner of my eye. The pen is on the floor. His hand hasn’t stopped the twirling motion he was using to spin it.

I walk over to the pen and pick it up. I make a tiny noise to get Isaac to look up and hand him the pen. “You dropped this.” He startles and blinks before nodding his thanks. I go back to my seat. Maybe he was just lost in thought and didn’t notice that the pen had fallen. 

It’s almost noon. My dad should be here soon. I miss him a lot. I also dread seeing him, because I know there will be questions. I don’t feel like talking about it, the only thing I really want is to eat chic fil a and hole up in my room to read. I realize that once my dad comes I’ll still have seven hours before I get home. 

I decide to get food from the vending machines so that we don’t have to stop on the way home. I decide to get something healthy, so I’m not hungry later. 

Five minutes later I am guiltily slinking back to my seat, my arms full of candy, chips, and soda. Oh well. What better way to try to forget about the events of a day than to gorge on junk food. I look over at Isaac, wondering if he’s hungry. I hold up a bag of chips and raise my eyebrows at him. He shakes his head slightly and returns to staring at the floor in front of him.

My dad rushes in at exactly 12:17. I run to him and he folds me into a hug. He’s crying. He checks me out and then we walk to the car, he’s still sort of holding me. I don’t care anymore if he asks a million questions, I’m just glad to be with him.


	3. Home

Once we get out of the parking lot he turns to look at me. “Listen, Jamie. You spoke with the police. You answered their questions. You shouldn’t have to answer them again. I’m here for you, if you need to talk or just want to be around someone. But I’m not going to interrogate you. If it’s okay with you, we can stop for some fast food, or just go back home. Okay?” 

I smile a little bit. “Yeah,” I saw nodding. “Let’s go home.” He smiles back at me. “Okay.” We drive in comfortable silence for a long time. At some point I must have fallen asleep, because when I wake up it’s dark outside.

“Hey Jamie. We’re almost home.” I nod sleepily. Home. Soon I’ll be home. I watch out the window as familiar things whiz by. I see the Kroger that’s only a few minutes from our house. Then I see our street sign. I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as now when we pull into the driveway.

As soon as we get in, I turn and lock the door. I have only just turned around when I’m pulled into a bear hug by my younger sisters Peggy, May, and Lynn. I try to forget about the thought of never seeing them again and just be happy to be with them. 

After a long moment my dad gently tells them to give me some air and they scamper back to whatever they were doing. I hug my dad again and he walks up the stairs to my room with me. Once I’m there I fall straight onto my bed. My dad makes sure I’m okay and then leaves, shutting the door behind him.

I’m almost asleep when I bolt up in a panic. I race over to my window and tug on the lock. I sigh. It was already locked tight. I close the curtains and walk back to my bed. 

I can’t sleep. I keep thinking back to Isaac’s screams in the room. The haunting sound fills my head. Then the image of the pen on the floor comes to the front of my mind. Issac’s eyes still focused intently on his hand, trying to spin a pen that wasn’t there. I shudder but I can’t get it out of my head. 

I shrug of the blankets and crack open my door a bit. I hear hushed voices in the living room. “Why is Jamie already sleeping?” I hear Peggy whine, “I wanna play.” I smile a little. She’s only five, and her entire world is playing. “Pegs, mean people tried to hurt your brother. He’s okay, but he’s tired. We have to let him sleep.” My dad says it calmly, and it works on Peggy and I hear her feet patter away into another room. 

I decide to come down. It’s only nine, and I can’t sleep anyways. I want to say goodnight to the girls before their bedtime. 

May is the first one to notice I’m downstairs. “You’re awake!” I nod and smile at her. She’s the oldest at 11, so I’m naturally a little closer to her. I love all of them obviously, but you can talk to an 11 year old more than a five or seven year old. “Do you want to play a game or something?” She asks eagerly. At this moment Lynn rushes in holding - a toilet plunger?? “I’M A WIZARD JAMIE!” She shrieks, running around at full speed. Me and May pause our conversation for a moment to stare at our sister. Then she shrugs and turns back to me. “So?” 

I laugh. “Anything but monopoly.” She sticks her tongue out at me. “That’s cause I always win!” Then she smiles evilly. “Anything but?” “NO! THAT IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GAME MAY!!” It’s too late. 

An hour later I am laying on the grass with May, surrounded by mashed potatoes and forks. “I still think you cheated,” I mutter jokingly. She only laughs. “We made the rules, so you really can’t cheat.” I sit up. “So you admit it!” She doesn’t give me the satisfaction of a proper response and just makes a hmph sound. 

I feel a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. I’m so happy to be back home. When I’m here, playing with my sisters, it feels like the room is another world that I’m not a part of. I’m glad for that.

I yawn. It’s nearly eleven. I poke May to tell her we should go to sleep, but she’s fallen asleep here. I hate to wake her up, but she’s covered in mashed potatoes and it’s starting to rain. I nudge her and she curls up tighter. “Go away dad I’m try’na sleep!” “It’s Jamie. Wake up unless you want to sleep here and get rained on.” She sits up and gives me a death glare. We trudge back inside the house, quiet now that Lynn and Peggy are sleeping. We take turns in the shower and then go to our separate rooms.

I curl up in my bed for the second time today. I want to get up and check the window lock, but I know I did just two hours ago. Better safe than sorry, I think as I check again. Still locked.

I find myself thinking back to the hospital. I wonder when Isaac’s parents got there, because he was still there when I left. I hope he’s okay. I wonder if I’ll ever see him again, since we both live in Virginia. I don’t know if I’d want to, but it might be nice. 

Screams wake me up. I panic before I realize they’re my own. My dad rushes in. “Jamie! What’s wrong?” My face burns. I haven’t woken up screaming from a nightmare since I was a little kid. “Sorry, dad, I just had a bad dream,” I mutter. He hugs me. “Don’t be sorry. It’s okay.” I nod. He sits with me a while until I calm down. Once he leaves I check the clock. 2:37 am. I groan and flop back into bed. I’m asleep in seconds.

I’m in the room again. I see Isaac in the corner, grinning manically up at me. “James. Look in front of you.” “I am, I am, I am looking!” I insist, but all I can see is him in front of me. Then I’m in the hospital waiting room. I see my hands in front of me, spinning a pen. I’m not controlling it. Suddenly Isaac has the pen, still grinning at me. I look down to see my fingers still spinning. 

I wake up panting. I look at the corner of my room and breathe a sigh of relief. Nobody’s there. I feel a pang of guilt. Isaac was locked up with me, and never tried to hurt me, and my mind turns him into a villain.


	4. Back to How it Was

I wake up in the morning to a walk of text messages from my friend’s group chat.  
6:34 am  
Alexxx: TELL US EVERYTHING  
MikeTheGreat: where were u????  
Jazzy: Is it true? You’re on the news!!!  
Alexxx: I don’t think he’s awake yet

6:48 am  
Alexxx: dude wake up  
Jazzy: let’s just stop texting him until at least like seven thirty  
Alexxx: NO  
Alexxx: Wake  
Alexxx: The  
Alexxx: Fuck  
Alexxx: Up  
Alexxx: Jaaaaaammmmeessssss

7:02 am  
MikeTheGreat: Shut up Al he’s sleeping  
Alexxx: WELL HE SHOULD WAKE UP ALREADY  
Jazzy: chill it  
Alexxx: UGHHHH

7:26  
Jam: I was ASLEEP  
Jam: and who changed my name to jam again??  
Jazzy: GUYS HES ALIVE  
MikeTheGreat: Where were you???????  
Alexxx: FINALLY  
Jam: what did the news say?  
Alexxx: it said you got mugged and thrown in a building in west va now tell us what actually happened  
Jam: ...  
MikeTheGreat: Wait that’s TRUE??  
Jazzy: Oh my god are you alive??  
Jazzy: I mean I know you’re alive but are you okay??  
Jam was changed to Jamie  
Jamie: I guess so  
Alexxx: so what happened??  
Jamie: I don’t remember all of it I woke up tied to a chair in a room with some other kid  
Jazzy: woah  
MikeTheGreat: holy crap  
MikeTheGreat: what happened to the other kid?  
Jamie: I dunno he passed out but was okay when we got to the hospital. His names Isaac he lives in VA too  
MikeTheGreat: wanna meet at my house today?  
Jamie: okay can you pick me up my dads working from home today but I don’t want to bother him and I don’t want to walk  
MikeTheGreat: sure

Mike lives close by, so he pulls into my driveway within three minutes. He’s the only one of us with a driver’s license so he drives most places. He looks awkward, like he doesn’t know what to say. I turn to look at him once I get in. “You don’t have to say anything. I’d rather not talk about it.” I say. He tries to look confused, “I-“ I cut him off. “Yes, it’s obvious you don’t know what to say.” He laughs a little and we drive down to his house. 

We dodge the assortment of siblings and pets and race down the dark steps into the basement. The best part about his house is the basement. It’s just one giant room, with all the old furniture. We have so much junk down here the group has collected from yard sales. We’ve got two couches, (one was found in a yard sale and the other was from Jazzy’s house after her brother spilled a pit of coffee over it), a bunch of broken or stained chairs, a table, and even a VHS player along with a collection of tapes. Most of them are Disney movies.

We spot one of Mike’s brothers hiding out under a chair trying to spy on us. “I see you, moron.” Mike rolls his eyes. The kid sulks and leaves. 

We wait for the rest of the group to come in. Jazzy gets here first and comes down the stairs followed by one of the dogs, Chip, who honestly looks like a rat. “Jazzy!! Don’t bring him down!” I tell her, glaring at the “dog”. “He’s cute, Jamie, don’t be mean.” She picks him up and carries him down. “Cute? He nearly ripped off my finger the last time I was here!” I say, exasperated. “And that is why we like him!” Says Alex from the top of the stairs. “When did you get here? And why are you siding with her?” I scoff.

We eventually calm down. I’m trying to buy time to think of how to tell them the story. I told the cops I was on my way to the theater to see my friends. I was too ashamed to tell them I had been planning on running away. 

I had brought all my money with me but no bags so it wouldn’t look suspicious. I was going to just head west, and keep going. It was a stupid idea. I started out and I saw someone I knew, so I ducked into the alley. When I got out I saw the car. It was a beautiful thing, really, decked out, pristine. I was looking at it, looking at it, and then I was in the chair.

I didn’t want to tell my friends that. I decided to tell them that I was gonna go to the movies, except instead of seeing friends like I told the cops, I was just trying to get out if the house. 

They believed me and were more focused on what happened in the room. It was harder once I got to the part about Isaac. 

“There was another kid there. He was really scared. He was screaming and yelling. It wouldn’t have been weird but....” I break off. “But..?” Jazzy prompts me. “There was one time, he looked up. He was looking at something, I swear to you. Something right in front of him. But there was nothing there. Then he passed out.” 

My friends look creeped out. I try to defend him. “He was scared, who knows if he was drugged, it just scared the crap outta me.” I don’t tell them about the pen. I don’t want them to think he’s crazy before they even meet him. I mean, who am I kidding, they’ll never meet him so I guess I wouldn’t do any harm. Still, it doesn’t seem right, telling them, especially when he isn’t here to explain. 

Eventually we get on the topic of school. It’s a Saturday, so I still have a day to prepare for the questions that will come. We all go to the same school, and me and Alex have the same classes. Jazzy is in 10th grade with me and Alex, and Mike is in 11th. Carter is also part of our group, but his parents don’t let him have a phone, so he gets left out a lot. I feel bad for him, but I can’t do much. He’s in 11th with Mike. 

After a while, we get bored. “Wanna watch a movie?” Jazzy asks, looking at Lady and the Tramp. “No, Jaz! We’ve seen that, like, a million times!” Alex protests. I pick it up and look at the back. “Not quite a million. 31 times.” We keep tallies for arguments like this. And for pride, but we don’t talk about that. 

“We could play truth or dare?” Suggests Mike, and I nod. “That’s good, I guess,” Jazzy sighs, and puts Lady and the Tramp away. We look towards Alex for him to give the final vote. He’s holding a bowl of popcorn looking crestfallen. I shrug. “Truth or dare it is.” 

We sit in a circle, and Alex starts. The lights are off because Mike thinks it makes it cooler. It doesn’t, but hey, it’s a tradition by now. 

Alex goes first. “Mike. Truth or dare?” He says it ominously, like a villain about to kill the protagonist. “Dare.” Shocker. Mike always chooses dare. Alex cackles evilly. “Run down the street screaming ‘where’s my diaper’ as loudly as you can.” Mike starts to protest, but Jazzy cuts him off. “You know what happens if you don’t.” “Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he mutters. We race over to the window and watch it unfold. We are so immature.

“I’ve got an idea.” I laugh and race to the front door. When Mike gets there he tries to open it but I hold it shut. He starts pounding on the doo. The neighbors are looking to see what’s going on. I pull open the door and say loudly, “Oh Mikey, you really must remember to wear your diaper when you go out. I know you’re working on accidents but you have to wear it until you have a week with none!” He throws the door open. Alex and Jazzy are up here too now, and we’re crying laughing. 

When we pull ourselves together enough to safely walk down the stairs, we flop on the couch for a moment to try to regain our breath. 

Mike is next. “James Castro. Truth. Or. Daaaaarrrreeee?” I know I’m going to get something terrible if I pick dare, so I go with truth even though the rest of the group will nag at me. “Truth.” “C’mon Jamie, you’re no fun,” Jazzy jokes, shoving me. Mike sighs. “Whatever. Umm, when’s the last time you peed your pants?” My face goes red. “That doesn’t count, I was KIDNAPPED!!!” I yell indignantly. “Sorry Jamie. I didn’t mean to-“ “It’s fine. Other than that, remember the school parade in eight grade when Braiden dropped the big drum?” “WHAAAAAT???? WHY DIDN’T I KNOW THIS?” Alex yells at me. We dissolve into laughter once again.

We play for hours. “We better get going. I need to be back home for dinner.” Jazzy says. We all agree. Alex and Jazzy leave, and then Mike drives me home. We ride just listening to the radio, not talking. It’s nice. 

Once I’m home, my dad cooks dinner. We all eat around the table, chatting and laughing. I tell the girls about Mike’s dare, and my dad has to tell us to calm down. After dinner we watch some cooking show for a while, mostly just chilling and listening. 

A while later Peggy and Lynn go to be, and May, my dad and I play a game of Parcheesi. My dad wins. He’s good at Parcheesi, but he never tells us his secret.

Even though it’s only nine thirty, I’m feeling a little tired. I think my dad can tell, and when May leaves to go to the bathroom he walks over to me. “Are you okay, Jamie? You seem out of it.” I shake my head. “I’m just a little tired.” “Okay,” he says, “you can go upstairs whenever you want.” I nod and hug him goodnight. I won’t sleep yet but I want to be alone for a while.

Once I’m in my room, I go to the window. Locked. I know it wouldn’t have changed but I still need to check. I walk into the bathroom and brush my teeth, staring at my reflection. I have bags under my eyes and my hair is a mess. I realize I haven’t taken a shower since I got home. I grab some clothes and hop into the shower. I turn the temperature dial until the water is just barely cool enough to not scald me. Then I just stand there and let the water pour over me. 

After a moment I turn to grab the shampoo and nearly slip. I’m wearing socks. I mumble a few choice words and peel off the gross socks and throw them out of the shower. Ew.

Once I’m out of the shower I feel better, like I’ve washed part of that place off. Not to mention I’m now wearing a hoodie and sweatpants instead of jeans and a t shirt. Now I have no chance of staying awake. 

I crawl into bed and fall asleep almost instantly. 

I’m in Mike’s basement (oops stranger things reference) again. Isaac is sitting on the couch, spinning his pen. He looks up at me, and instead of the terrifying grin I expect, he frowns and disappears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the people who read this: thanks for taking the time to read! It means a lot to me! This is my first story so I know it isn’t great. I promise, you’ll see Isaac again.


	5. Communication

I wake up to my phone ringing on the table by my bed. I lift it up and squint to see the caller ID. It’s just a number. I slide my finger across the screen to answer it.  
“Hello. I’m calling about your car insurance poli-“ I hang up. Spam calls. At four in the morning. 

I groan and sit up. I won’t be able to get back to sleep now. Through my window I see the ground covered in dew, making the spiderwebs visible. My window. I need to check the window. I walk over to it and feel the latch. Locked tight.

My phone buzzes. Again? I check the screen and see a message from Mike. It’s not in the group chat. 

4:08 am  
MikeTheGreat: are you awake?  
Jamie: yeah what’s up  
MikeTheGreat: you weren’t on your way to the movies Jamie where were u going?  
MikeTheGreat: Jamie I know you read that just tell me  
Jamie: listen mike. I was mad and I just wanted to get out okay  
MikeTheGreat: you were running away? Away from all of us? Without even telling us where you were I can’t believe you

What was I thinking? I didn’t have a plan, I hadn’t told anyone, I didn’t even have a real reason. Now I was going to lose my best friend over it. 

Nearly three hours later I get another text from Mike. I don’t want to open it. I’m scared of what it’s going to say. I open it anyways.

6:48 am  
MikeTheGreat: Can you just tell me why?   
Jamie: I wasn’t thinking. I was worried about the exams and everything else. I wanted to get away. I don’t know what I was thinking  
MikeTheGreat: you’re so stupid sometimes. It’s okay though. I won’t tell anyone  
Jamie: thanks Mike  
Jamie: I owe you  
MikeTheGreat: damn right I’m gonna remember this. Now go to sleep for gods sake. It’s a Sunday. I’ll text the group later we’ll meet up again  
Jamie: see u then

I smile a little bit. I’m glad he didn’t stay too mad at me. He’s right, I should sleep, but I don’t feel tired. 

I sit on my bed and stare up at my ceiling. I wonder if Isaac is doing the same thing. It’s kind of nice, having someone who shares that experience with you. Even if I don’t know where he is and probably won’t see him again, I know he’s under the same stars. I’m not as alone as it feels.

I start thinking about the room. Why would whoever kidnapped us put us there? And why were we taken in the first place? I have so many questions, and almost no answers.

I sit feeling helpless for a few moments before I realize that maybe I’m not as helpless as I think. I know more about what happened than anyone else. Maybe I can string together the events of that day to get some part of what happened and why it happened.

I get out a sheet of paper and write what I know. It doesn’t take long.

1:00?  
Leave the house  
?:??  
Duck into the alley  
?:??  
See the car  
A few minutes of staring  
?:??  
At least seven hours of unconsciousness   
Tied to the chair

I’m just as confused as before. I sort of expected a Sherlock Holmes like eureka and to suddenly shout, ‘So and so kidnapped me because whatnot!’. I guess that will have to wait. 

I crumple up the paper and chuck it across the room. I’m not going to get anywhere with that.

A crazy idea comes to me. What if I could find Isaac? He could tell me what happened to him. We could figure out what happened by comparing perspectives and time frames!

I get excited before a little thing called reality gets in the way. I don’t know how to find Isaac. Isaac also doesn’t know me, didn’t seem like he wanted to talk to me, and is also a little bit, um, scary. 

I feel guilty again for picturing him as scary. He’s probably a normal kid like me. I wish I could find him again. Then I could maybe get to know him and stop thinking of him as some sort of monster.

I groan. I can’t figure anything out and now I have the new problem of finding Isaac. I don’t even know his last name. 

It’s now 7:30, and I can hear my dad downstairs making coffee. I trudge down and say good morning before flipping on the news.

“Kidnapped boys James Castro and Isaac Edmunds have been found unharmed in-“ I turn it off. Edmunds. That’s his last name. I could try to find him online maybe. 

I pull out my phone and search Snapchat for Isaac Edmunds. Nothing. I try Instagram and get a hit. His page doesn’t have much, a few pictures of random things, a tree, road, what I presume to be the view from one of his windows, but no pictures of him or his friends and family. 

I put my phone back in my pocket. I need to think about what to say to him if and before I message him. I’m still not 100% sure I will message him.

The smell of pancakes interrupts my thoughts. Messaging Isaac can wait. Pancakes, nope. I race over to the kitchen, sliding on the tiled floor. 

“Syrup and butter over there. Could you take them to the table?” My dad asks, tipping his chin to the delicious additions to a perfect stack of pancakes. I nod and set them on the table. 

I’m surprised Peggy May and Lynn aren’t in here demanding first choice of pancakes. I should probably get them up. I walk up the stairs to where the bedrooms are. 

I open the door to the room Peggy and Lynn share. They’re snoring and Lynn looks like she’s about to fall off her top bunk. I nudge her awake. “Hey Lynn. Dad’s making pancakes. Will you get Pegs up while I get May?” She pops up at the word pancakes. “Sure thing,” she replies, and hops down to torture our youngest sister. 

I exit and continue down the hallway past my room to get to May’s. I knock on the door. An indecipherable response comes that seems relatively agreeable. I open the door. “Morning,” I laugh, taking in the nest of blankets and stuffed animals that may or may not contain my sister. 

A head emerges from the lump and glares at me. “Why do you wake me at this ungodly hour?” She growls at me. “Ok for one, it’s after eight. Two, dad’s making pancakes. And thr-“ She cuts me off. “Pancakes?” She asks, suspicious. I nod and she shakes off the blankets. “I suppose I can forgive you. Now get out. I’ll be down in a minute.”

I roll my eyes and leave, closing the door behind me. By the time I get back downstairs, Peggy and Lynn are laying claim to pancakes and who gets the butter first. I walk in and sit down, eager to fill my face. We wait relatively patiently for May to come down. 

Once she is seated it’s a mad grab at pancakes and butter and syrup, followed by silence as our mouths are filled with the excellency of dad’s pancakes. Peggy is drowning her’s in syrup, May eats here’s with only butter, and me and Lynn eat then like sane people with a good amount of butter and syrup. 

Every time Dad makes pancakes it’s like I’ve forgotten how good they are. We sometimes joke that they must be magical. They’re addictive, let me tell you. You tell yourself that you’ll only eat one and a few minutes later you’ve eaten six and you still want more. It’s pure happiness. It’s almost enough to make me forget about Isaac. 

Almost. After we finish and put our plates and utensils in the sink I trudge upstairs and flop onto my bed. I think about what to say to Isaac. “Hey Isaac, this is James,” doesn’t sound like saying enough, but the other option is to say something along the lines of “Hey Isaac, this is James, that kid you were kidnapped with.” And that just sounds weird.

Finally I send a message.  
@jamescastro: Hey Isaac this is James.  
I don’t think he will see it for a while so I’m surprised when a response pops up almost immediately.  
@isaacedmunds: Hey James. How are you doing?  
I get the idea neither of us really know what to say. It’s definitely still something.  
@jamescastro: Doing ok, wbu?  
@isaacedmunds: What?  
@jamescastro: what about you?  
@isaacedmunds: Oh, I’ve been doing okay too.   
He’s typing using punctuation and good grammar. Does that mean he doesn’t want to talk or does he always do it? I’m stressing way too much.   
@jamescastro: its a little scary tbh  
@isaacedmunds: I understand, I haven’t been able to stop replaying what happened.   
@jamescastro: yeah especially at night. Like in the day I’m thinking of other stuff but then theres nothing at night  
@jamescastro: I’ve been trying to think or what happened before I got there and trying to piece together what happened.   
@isaacedmunds: Have you had any luck?  
@jamescastro: none  
@jamescastro: it’s just so confusing. Why were we taken anyway  
@isaacedmunds: I’m not sure why. I’ve been thinking about that too.  
@jamescastro: where do u go to school?  
@isaacedmunds: I go to First Colonial, what about you?  
@jamescastro: cool I go to green run

I can feel the conversation stretching thin. I don’t know what else to ask. I’m not planning on going down the ‘favorite animal, color, etc.’ path to try to keep the conversation going. I always hate when people do that. I decide to text Mike

Jamie: hey mike you busy?  
MikeTheGreat: no what’s up  
Jamie: I found Isaac on instagram  
MikeTheGreat: cool! Did you message him?  
Jamie: yeah but idk what else to say I asked him what school he goes to and how he’s doing but what else do I do?  
MikeTheGreat: jeez and I though jaz was socially inadequate  
Jamie: excuse me  
Jamie: I’ll have you know that I have met and gotten to know several people outside our friend group.  
MikeTheGreat: whatever. Anyways just like pick a show or band you like and ask him if he likes it.  
Jamie: ok

I switch back to my messages with Isaac.  
@jamescastro: do you like stranger things?  
@isaacedmunds: Yes! I haven’t seen season three yet, though.   
@jamescastro: Cool! I think 3 is the best yet  
@isaacedmunds: No spoilers.  
@jamescastro: not a chance 

I’m interrupted by Peggy calling my name. I sigh and quickly shoot off a text to Isaac before going to see what’s up.

@jamescastro: I gtg, sister calling me. Ttyl

I walk into Peggy and Lynn’s room. Lynn must be downstairs. “Pegs? Where are you?” I call, looking around the room. “Jamie, I’m stuck under the bed! I can’t find Cookie!” She wails. Cookie is her favorite stuffed dog. I crouch down and see Peggy all the way under the bed, half behind some boxes. 

There’s no way I can fit under there. I’m not even sure how she got there. “Can you see me?” I ask, hoping she’s at least facing the right way. “Yeah,” comes the response. “Okay. Just wiggle on your belly towards me. You got under there you’ll be able to get out.” “But I haven’t got Cookie!” She shouts, indignant. I sigh. “If you can see him-“ She cuts me off, “HER!” “Sorry, Pegs. If you can see her, grab her an then wiggle out.” There’s a series of thumps and I see her start to come towards me, Cookie in hand. After a few minutes she’s free and has forgotten the entire incident, sitting and playing on her bed again. 

I walk back to my room and see two notifications, one from Isaac and one from Mike. I open Mike’s first.  
MikeTheGreat: are you managing to uphold a conversation now?  
Jamie: shut up  
Jamie: and yes thanks  
MikeTheGreat: were all very proud of you  
Jamie: ok ok you’ve made your point  
I check on Isaac’s next.   
@isaacedmunds: What’s her name?  
@jamescastro: Ive got three younger sisters peggy lynn and may   
@isaacedmunds: I always wanted a sibling.  
@jamescastro: yeah they can be pretty annoying but honestly theyre pretty cool  
@isaacedmunds: I think I could settle for one, not three.   
@jamescastro: the house does get pretty loud with four kids. No pets tho so not super crazy. U have pets?  
@isaacedmunds: I have a parakeet, he’s pretty much my best friend.  
@jamescastro: pretty cool! Don’t they talk or smthing?  
@isaacedmunds: They’re smart birds, with teaching they can. Most people think that they can only mimic but they can actually communicate simple things, like saying a specific word for wanting food, or something else.  
@jamescastro: what’s his name?  
@isaacedmunds: His name is Lin. I chose a short name so he could learn it quickly.   
@jamescastro: what kinda stuff does he say? And can he actually like tell you things?  
@isaacedmunds: He yells my name when he’s hungry, or says ‘Lin eat now’ over and over. If I tell him hello, he says it back. Sometimes he sings my ringtone. I got him in middle school so of course my friend taught him very pleasant phrases.  
@jamescastro: woah I had no idea they were that smart. What exactly did your friend teach him?  
@isaacedmunds: I left him alone with my parakeet for maybe twenty minutes to help my dad with something and when I opened the door he went ‘Isaac. Fuck you.’   
@jamescastro: well that is something  
@isaacedmunds: It sure is. My dad wasn’t too pleased when he came in later.  
@jamescastro: yikes. Your friend sounds pretty evil. Very cool but evil.  
@isaacedmunds: That is pretty much him in a nutshell.  
@jamescastro: can we text instead of messaging here? It’s a lot easier  
@isaacedmunds: Sure, my number is XXX-XXX-XXXX

I’m pretty happy with the turnout of this. Now I have a way to contact him, and he seems really cool. Definitely not crazy. I try to picture his dad’s face when he opened the door to a cussing parakeet. I can’t help but giggle a little to imagine how much fun that would be.


	6. Terror in Geometry and Dreams

The next few hours go by in a blur. I’m so focused on being excited to see my friends and tell them about Isaac that I barely notice when my dad yells my name. 

“Jamie!” He tells, somewhere between panic and shock. I race into the kitchen to see what’s going on. “Uh, sorry, dad. I’ll get a towel-“ he starts laughing. “Jamie. How do you manage to set cereal on fire? And why did you put it in the microwave?” I blink. Whoops. “I’m. Actually not sure,” I say, hurrying to clean up the mess.

Of course, Peggy Lynn and May are all gleeful at my idiocy. I’m just glad they don’t have phones yet to record the whole fiasco, although I will admit it’s pretty funny.

After dealing with what is now known as the cereal incident, I head up to my room and text the group.

Jamie: youll never guess what just happened  
Alexxx: TELL ME  
Jazzy: oh goodness jamie what have u done  
Alexxx: SPILL THE TEA MAN  
MikeTheGreat: do I need to call an ambulance???  
Jamie: I may have set cereal on fire in my microwave   
Alexxx: I NEED A PICTURE  
Jazzy: wait what how the actual fuck do u do that  
Jamie: idk jaz but it happened  
MikeTheGreat: wtf dude why was there cereal in the microwave   
Jamie: again idk I thought it was smth else I guess

The group spends a few minutes on the cereal incident before we move on to planning our meeting for today.

MikeTheGreat: ok so my parents say we can’t be at my place tday we need another plan  
Jazzy: I can ask brb  
Jazzy: they said yeah you can come  
Alexxx: yessss I call the nacho cheese doritos   
Jazzy: no alex I’m not letting you eat all my food again  
MikeTheGreat: cmon jaz we know you have a horde of chips  
Jazzy: y’all are insufferable yknow  
Jamie: yup we know I call the cool ranch ones  
Jazzy: see u in an hour?  
Jamie: k  
MikeTheGreat: yep  
Alexxx: doritooooosss

I’m excited to see them, even though I just saw them yesterday. Plus, chips are a total plus. We don’t go to Jazzy’s place often, but when we do there’s always a huge amount of junk food. Not to mention the absence of a psychotic rat dog. **coughcoughthatsyouchip**

Jazzy has a sister named Zoe but she’s an adult so we don’t see her often. She’s also the only one who calls her Jasmine, which she hates. I’m not sure why she hates it so much. I think it’s a pretty name. Then again, I go by Jamie not James even though there’s nothing wrong with James.

Mike picks me up again and we drive to Jazzy’s house listening to the radio. Alex is already there when we arrive, and is clutching a bag of Doritos.

“Hey Mike! Jamie! She’s got cookies!” Alex yells around a mouthful of chips. Jazzy gives him a withering glare. “You are such a child, Alex.” She sniffs. We roll our eyes.

Once inside I look around for Jazzy’s parents. Normally they’re in the living room or y’all waiting to snoop on us. Jazzy notices. “They’re going shopping so it’s just us for a while.” She explains. “So can we wat-“ I’m cut off by a loud screech. I jump before I realize that it’s just Alex. “Oh no. You left out the horror movies, didn’t you.” Jazzy nods, cringing as Alex walks out with Saw. 

“Al we are not watching that.” I say. “Oh goodness what did he find,” Mike asks, drawn away from the kitchen. “Nope nope nope no way Alex.” He backs up from the movie. “Not after last time.” Jazzy looks confused. “You weren’t there, it was at Alex’s house. They watched the Human Centipede. Mike totally freaked out.” I whisper. She nods. “I see.”

We turn back to Mike and Alex bickering. We turn away quickly. “Let’s just go pick a new movie,” I smirk, knowing Mike and Alex aren’t going to agree. “What movie though? We’ve seen all of mine about a hundred times.” I think for a moment. “We could just make a shit ton of popcorn and play a random movie because when there’s food nobody pays attention to the movie anyways?” She rolls her eyes. “... you’re serious. Oh. Ok then!” She says brightly, already on her way to the microwave.

I search the drawers by the TV and find a decent looking movie for background noise while we stuff our faces. 

An hour later we’re piled on her couch sobbing about how Bing Bong shouldn’t have been forgotten in Inside Out, popcorn all over. “B-bing Bong didn-didn’t deserve to die!” Alex wails. I hand him his bag of nacho cheese Doritos. He sniffles and gratefully takes them from me. 

It takes a while to get it together and clean all the popcorn out of the couch cushions. When we’re done Alex glares at me with a look that could kill. “We should’ve just gone with my movie.” He says darkly, hugging his knees. “Al, it’s gonna be okay. Plus your movie probably has more depressing things than this.” “IMPOSSIBLE!” Mike says dramatically, throwing himself onto the floor.

I love being with them, watching depressing cartoon movies and arguing. Some friend groups have musicals, or a club. We have dramatics and kid movies. Honestly, it’s pretty much the best thing in the world. 

I wish I had thought about that before I decided to try to run away. Then I would never have been in that alley, never been taken to the room, and everything would still be normal. My friends are the best, and they don’t ask too many questions or bug me about it, but they just don’t understand. I laughed about being scared in that room, but it wasn’t funny. Still isn’t. 

“Hey Mike, will you drive me back? My dad’s gonna want me home soon.” He gets off the floor and nods. “Sure. I’ve gotta go soon anyways.” We say our goodbyes and walk out to his car. “So Jamie.” He starts. I look over at him. “Huh?” “Have you managed to uphold a conversation with Isaac?” 

I roll my eyes. “Yeah. I feel bad for picturing him as sort of crazy. He sounds pretty cool. You’d like him.” “Do you know where he goes to school?” I think for a second. “Maybe something like First Colony or something? I forget exactly.” “First Colonial?” He asks, like its a big revelation. “Uh, yeah? Why?” His eyes go wide. “That’s in Virginia Beach! Pretty close to us!” He says excitedly. No way. This is great! “What if sometime you guys could meet him! That’d be so cool.” We chat about a meeting, however unrealistic, until we pull into my driveway. 

Once I get in my dad comes over to me. “Lunch?” He offers, looking hopeful. “I ate with them, I’m not hungry. Thanks though!” His face falls a little. “Okay! Do you maybe want to play a game or watch something?” I shake my head, “I have some work to do.” He nods. “Okay, just come down if you want to do anything.” I tell him okay and head up to my room.

I sit down on my bed. I feel bad about not wanting to be around my dad and friends but I need to think some things over. I’m torn between focusing on finding who wanted to lock us up and trying to just go back to being normal. I selfishly wish that one of my friends had been there too, so I could talk with them about it more. I have Isaac, but I don’t really even know him. I’d like to get to know him better, because he is crucial in finding who did this and in trying to just be normal again. I decide to text the number he gave me.  
James: Hey Isaac  
Isaac: Who is this? I don’t have your number.  
James: oh sorry this is james   
Isaac: Oh okay, cool!  
James: I wonder what school will be like cuz everyone saw me on the news  
Isaac: Yeah, I’m pretty scared too.  
James: I have friends at school but it’s like they have no idea what happened yknow what I mean  
Isaac: What are these ‘friends’ you speak of? And yes, I get it. People are sympathetic, but it’s hard for them to be empathetic.  
James: k one, too many big words and two I’m sure you have some friends   
Isaac: Meaning they are nice to me, but they can’t understand what it was like.  
James: I was kidding  
Isaac: Sorry I didn’t know.  
James: yur fine  
James: I hate this  
Isaac: What’s going on?  
James: not knowing why or how  
Isaac: It’s like there was no purpse .  
James: Yeah  
Isaac: *purpose  
James: can I ask u something  
Isaac: Sure, what do you want to know?  
James: why do you type with proper spelling and punctuation and all  
Isaac: cuz when i text like this it bothers me to no end wbu  
James: K that felt wrong reading it from you I’ve gotten used to yur grammar  
Isaac: You see now, don’t you?  
James: you win that one  
Isaac: Yes! Well, I have to go now, I’ll talk to you later.  
James: ttyl  
Isaac: What? Is this an abbreviation or a misspelled word or just a random jumble? Educate me.  
James: k you obviously don’t text much it means talk to you later  
Isaac: Ok ok, you have me there. Well I guess I will ttyl.

I chuck my phone onto my bed and head downstairs. I should do something with my dad, it’ll make him happy and I’ve been avoiding him all day. 

“Hey dad,” I say, walking over to the couch where he’s watching the news. He flicks of the TV and turns, looking up at me expectantly. “What is it, Jamie?” “Just coming down to see what’s up. What’s on the news?” My response sounds a bit stiff, but at least I didn’t say ‘hey dad, I’ve been ignoring you all day and I want to make up for that by having meaningless small talk because I don’t know what else to say’ So that’s a plus. I tune back into the world in time to catch what my dad says, “They’re trying to find who, um, who took you away. Apparently they haven’t made much progress yet. That’s all we know.” 

“Your sisters want me to take them to the park in a little while. You want to come?” He asks, trying to change the subject. I shrug. “Sure.”

We head to the park and my sisters run off towards the playground. I make predictions as to what they will go to first. It’s always fun to see if you can know what’s going to happen before it happens, like a mind game of sorts. Lynn will go to the swings. May, she’ll go to the monkey bars. As for Peggy it’ll most likely be the spiral slide, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she followed May to the monkey bars.

Lynn rushes off to the swings. That’s one. May is followed by Peggy to the monkey bars. Two for three. Not bad. 

I’m glad I went to the park. It was nice to be outside and around my family, especially in the nice weather.

When I get home I head to my room and message Isaac.  
James: hey Isaac what’s up?  
Isaac: Nothing much, I have some homework to do before school on Monday.  
James: oh crap I forgot about homework I have a geometry worksheet  
Isaac: I’m taking geometry too. I think it’s pretty fun so far.  
James: whaaatttt how  
Isaac: Do you need any help with it?  
James: um yes could you translate this into english plz  
One image attached   
Isaac: Well, it is in English, but yes sure.  
Isaac: Do you get to use a calculator?  
James: yup  
Isaac: Okay that’s good. So the number in parentheses will go into the radical. Then you put the denominator of the fractional exponent as the index and the numerator goes into the radical with the number that was in parentheses.  
James: I said english   
Isaac: The number in the parentheses. Put it in a square root sign. Then put the bottom number of the fraction outside the top left corner of the square root sign. The top number of the fraction becomes an exponent for the number in the square root.  
James: um. Ok  
Isaac: Do you use ixl?  
James: ugh yes  
Isaac: N.1 Evaluate rational exponents. That one covers this.  
James: ew no I’m not going to willingly do an ixl Id rather fail  
Isaac: Have fun failing! :)  
James: oh dang you used an emoticon you must be frustrated   
Isaac: I’m confused, what is an emoticon?  
James: :) :/ XD those faces  
Isaac: Okay.

I look back and forth between the worksheet and Isaac’s instructions, hoping for it to miraculously click.

I groan. No miracle. I start to work the first problem, but I’m confused within minutes. I shove the paper aside and tell myself that it’ll make sense later.

It’s only 3:00 in the afternoon, I’ve got plenty of time before dinner to goof off. I go to my door and make sure that it’s closed before walking over to my window. 

I’m greeted by cool air as I climb out onto the roof. It’s sort of my secret place, even though it’s not hidden. More like an obvious place that nobody notices. The second story windows open up over the roof of the first story, so there’s no risk of falling. 

I poke my head and arms back inside to grab a piece of notebook paper and a pencil. I start drawing a little creature of sorts, in between a spider, crab, and fish. I have absolutely no artistic ability but drawing makes me feel calmer. 

After a while I start to get cold and I come back in, carefully shutting the window behind me. I flop onto my bed and scroll through Instagram. I see that Isaac has another picture of that dog posted. I decide to text him.

James: whos the dog on your instagram?  
Isaac: That’s Jet, he belongs to one of my dad’s friends but we are taking care of him right now.  
James: oh cool what kind of dog is he?  
Isaac: He’s a mix, but we know part lab. Basically he’s a mutt, but we don’t say that around him.  
James: aw he sounds nice. My friend has some pretty evil dogs. Actually more rat than dog  
Isaac: I’m imagining this rat dog and I’m very glad that I’m imagining it.

I laugh. Isaac sounds pretty cool. I hope I can meet him someday, maybe even with my friends. 

A few hours later my dad calls for dinner. I stampede down the stairs with the girls and throw myself at the table. Spaghetti and garlic bread. The epitome of dinner foods. 

There’s not much talking during dinner, we’re all too busy eating. That is until May realizes that there’s no more garlic bread.

I have to guard the price of bread that’s on my plate like a dragon hairs guards it’s egg. I eventually give up and tear it into quarters to silence the pleas and threats of murder.

After dinner we all wash the grease off of our hands and scurry upstairs. I hear Lynn and Peggy fighting over something and May digging through something that’s clattering, maybe markers or toys. 

I hop into the shower. If I wait until later Peggy Lynn and May will have used all of the hot water, and cold water is, well, cold.

Once I’ve showered and gotten dressed I pull out a book and sit on my bed to read. I’ve already read it several times and I find myself skimming over the pages, knowing what happens and not really processing the words. 

My mind drifts to tomorrow, Monday. I decide to start figuring out my responses to possible questions.

“What happened?” “Watch the news.” “Where were you?” “West Virginia.” “Did you get hurt?” “No.” “Who did this?” “I dunno.” 

I guess that about covers it. Hopefully people will just leave me alone after they get an answer and not press it. 

Later that night I start to get ready for bed. I do my new routine of making sure the window is locked, doing anything else, and then checking again before turning off the lights. 

I fall asleep pretty quickly, plummeting straight into a strange world of dreams.

I’m walking down the road to Mike’s house, Isaac is walking next to me. He keeps repeating the same phrase, “You’re missing the point. Look in front of you.” I try to respond but then I’m back in the room, tied to the chair. My friends walk in circles around me, expressions blank. I call out to them but they don’t hear. Suddenly they all stop, turn to me, and scream, their faces twisted into devilish grins.


	7. Respond

For the second time in a row, a call wakes me up. It takes me a moment to register what the buzzing is. I lift the phone and see the time, 3:29 am, displayed alongside Isaac’s name.

Why would he be calling? And why at 3 in the morning? I rub my eyes and put my phone to my ear, sliding to answer.

“Isaac? What’s-“ I start to mumble, but he cuts me off, his voice hushed but panicked, “James. Lock your windows.” I’m about to respond when I hear the beep of him hanging up.

I jump up and run into my dads room, forgetting the time. 

As soon as I open the door he is awake. He sits up slowly, tired and confused.

“Dad! Isaaccalledmeandsaidtolock -“  
He cuts me off, holding his hands up in front of him, signaling me to stop.

“Okay, calm down, Jamie. Start at the beginning.” I take a deep breath before responding. “Isaac called. He sounded real scared. He told me to lock my window and then he hung up.” 

“Isaac?”, he asks, and then recognition flashes across his face. “I remember. Okay, why don’t you try to call him back.” I nod and pull out my phone, clicking on his contact. 

It rings once before going to voicemail. “Hey, you’ve reached Isaac Castro, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!” “At the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording, hang up, or press one for more options. Bleeeeep.”

“Uh, hey Isaac. Call me back soon..? Bye?” I say, before hanging up. I hate having to leave voicemails. Ugh. 

I look over at my dad. “Dad? What do I do?” He shrugs. “I guess just wait for him to call you back. You could try texting him if you want.”

I nod and turn to leave, but he taps my shoulder. I turn back. “Hey. Wake me up if anything else happens, okay?” I nod again and leave, quietly closing the door behind me.

When I get back into my room I text Isaac.

James: Are you okay?

I sit for a while, I don’t know how long, staring at the phone screen, waiting for a reply. 

After a while, I turn off my phone and just sit there on my bed, not tired anymore. Leaning my head against the wall, I close my eyes, thinking back to his call.

He was talking quietly. He could be in a place where he was hiding or didn’t want to wake someone up. I didn’t hear any background noise, so he couldn’t have been outside. He’s probably in his house. 

I feel a little calmer. Maybe he just got scared and freaked out or something. He’ll probably text me in the morning, using correct grammar and spelling to explain.

That’s the last thing I am thinking about before I am suddenly in my dads room again. He isn’t there, but Isaac is. He’s sitting against the far wall, not moving. I walk over to him and tap his shoulder. He jolts up, looks me right in the eye, and disappears. I whirl around, looking for him. Nobody is there, but I can hear a voice coming from somewhere. Echoing over and over, I cower in fear as I realize it is my own voice I hear, even though I’m not talking. The words are distorted, getting louder and louder and louder. 

I feel a hand shake my shoulder. I curl up tighter. “Jamie. Wake up, it’s Monday. You have to go to school.” 

I crack open my eyes and glare at the world. “Mhdisneoqnsia.” I mutter, hoping to satisfy the need for a response.

I hear a sigh and then my door opens and closes. I sit up a little bit, although to say I am sitting up would be quite wrong. More of a squished slump. 

The events of last night-or rather this morning-come back to me. I grab my phone to check for a response, only to be blinded by the glow. Squinting, I turn the brightness all the way down. 

One text. Not from Isaac, but from Jazzy. I open it.

Jazzy: “  
Jamie: what?  
Jazzy: nothing  
Jamie: ...?  
Jazzy: bye  
Jamie: -_-

I sigh. Adjusting to the brightness, I get out of bed and go downstairs, leaving my phone on my bed.

I put bread into the toaster and pour myself about a teaspoon of coffee from the pot, filling the rest of the mug up with creamer. Perfection.

Forty minutes later I’m waiting at the bus stop with Jazzy, Mike, and a couple of random kids I don’t really know. Alex isn’t here yet.

I see Carter, the other member of our group, walk up. I wave him over. 

I go through a short explanation of what happened for him before we get out the homework. 

“So. Who actually did it?” Jazzy asks, holding a blank paper. Mike and I look down at our mostly blank papers and we all turn to Carter, holding his, filled in with the work and answers.

He sighs. “Change it a little,” he says, and reluctantly hands it over. I give him a quick thanks before taking out a pencil and joining the huddle over it to copy. 

We all finish a few minutes before the bus arrives. Still no Alex. He’s probably sick or faking to get out of a test. Oh crap. A test. Please no.

The world is a cold and dark place. Not just a test but a unit test. The biggest grade of the quarter. Hooray. 

The day goes by, and it’s only when I’m on the bus going home that I realize I haven’t checked my texts all day during school, and Isaac could have responded and I didn’t see it.

I pull out my phone and turn it on. No texts. I sigh and shove it back into my backpack. I guess I’ll text him again later.


	8. Time Skip and Other Isaac

~three-ish years later~

James Castro walks into the main office. “Name?” Asks the bored looking secretary. “James Castro,” he replies absentmindedly, looking around the room. She gives him a key. “Room 237, your roommate will be there shortly if he isn’t already there.” 

I look at the room numbers as I walk down the hallways, 203, 205, 207. I speed up. 231, 233, 235, and finally, 237. I hope I have a nice roommate, and not some jerk who’ll bring friends over at two in the morning.

I open the door slowly. There’s two small rooms with a bed, dresser, desk, and a chair. In the main part there’s a door that I assume leads off to a bathroom, and a small kitchen area in the corner. Neither room has anything in it, so I choose the one on the right, mostly because right Twix are superior to left Twix. Fight me.

I start to unpack my bag, shoving stuff randomly into the drawers. When most of my stuff is out of sight I sit down on the bed and pull out my phone. I text Mike.  
James: Hey Mike what’s up  
Mike: nothing much yet just got into my dorm  
James: same you have a roommate?  
Mike: yup -_-  
James: that bad huh  
Mike: ...  
James: I’ve got a roommate but he isn’t here yet you can come over if you want  
Mike: which dorm?  
James: 237  
Mike: you’re kidding me right  
James: uh no why  
Mike: 237??? The Shining??? Cmon  
James: ohh  
Mike: did you check the bathtub for a rotten corpse yet  
James:..no  
Mike:I’m not coming over until you do  
James: ok ok I’ve checked all is well  
Mike: see you in a minute 

Mike gets to my dorm in a few minutes. “Hey Jamie,” he says, looking around my room. “So, bad roommate?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at him. “Well, I don’t know him at all yet and I don’t want to judge-“  
“Just tell me already!” I cut in, exasperated. He sighs. “Well I know he has a girlfriend.” “Wha- oh. Ohhhh. You didn’t knock did you,” I say, trying not to laugh at him. He starts to reply but then the door cracks open.

Mike and I watch as the person, presumably my roommate, shuffles in, goes into his room, and silently begins unpacking. Mike slips out, leaving me and Other Kid alone.

“You’re my roommate I assume?” He turns around a little and nods. I can see him better now that he’s facing me. He reminds me of how this guy described Dr. Reid in Criminal Minds, ‘a pipe cleaner with eyes’. I look back at my phone and scroll absentmindedly while observing my new roommate out of the corner of my eye. 

He’s unpacking everything neatly, a stark contrast to my shoving everything out of sight. He finishes quickly and then leaves the room, taking a notepad and pen with him. 

I glance at the picture he set on his dresser. A kid, maybe 9 or 10, smiling at the camera, holding a goldfish in a glass bowl. Maybe his sister, I guess, but she looks nothing like the glimpse I saw of him.

I shrug and walk back over to my room. I suppose eventually I’ll learn more about Other Kid, seeing as I’m going to be living with him for the next four years.

Classes don’t start until tomorrow, and that’s really just orientation, so I won’t have work to worry about for a while. I guess I should explore the building so I don’t get lost tomorrow.

After wandering the halls for a while, I decide to go back to my dorm. I’ll text Jazzy, Alex, and Carter. Alex doesn’t go here, but Jazzy and Carter do. It’s going to be weird not seeing him around. Probably a lot quieter, though.

Other Kid is in the dorm when I get back, scribbling down something on the notebook. He looks up when I enter and gives a little nod to acknowledge me before going back to writing.

“I’m James, what’s your name?” I ask, leaning against the doorway of my room. “Isaac,” he says softly, still writing. I knew an Isaac once. Isaac Edmunds. He never did respond to another text or call I sent him. He would be the same age as me, and he lived close to me. “Isaac Edmunds?” I question, feeling awkward. He shakes his head, “No, Isaac Harrison.” I don’t know if I should be disappointed or relieved. 

Either way, Isaac doesn’t seem to be a bad roommate, certainly not like he’ll be bringing loud friends over. 

“What’re you working on?” He looks up. “Oh, um, I’m writing a letter to my sister. She doesn’t have a phone so I can’t call her.” “Is that her?” I ask, pointing to the picture on his dresser. He smiles a little, “Yeah, that’s her. Her name’s Avery.” I nod. “Cool.” 

I walk into my room and sit on the bed, pulling out my phone. New Isaac got me thinking about Old Isaac. I pull up Instagram and search for Old Isaac. I find his account and see the same pictures as three years ago, nothing new. Maybe I should try to get back in touch with him. I stopped trying to reach his after a year. I click on his contact and text him,  
James: Hey Isaac, it’s been a while. I was wondering if you wanted to get back in touch? Text me back soon.

New Isaac grabs his backpack and leaves the dorm. I stay on my bed, staring at the message I sent. I don’t expect a response. Then I see it. Three little dots. He’s typing. And then they go away. 

I angrily throw my phone down onto the bed. He saw my texts, started a reply, and then deleted it. I don’t know why I care, but it would be nice to be able to talk to him again. I kind of miss getting the texts that are written correctly, it used to make me laugh a little. 

Oh well. I stand up and stretch. When I do, I catch a glimpse of the letter Isaac was writing. “What the heck?” I mutter. It looks like an excerpt from a textbook. I lean in closer. It IS an excerpt from a textbook. It’s about bankruptcy appellate panels. It’s literally the driest bit of text I have ever seen. I shrug. Whatever he wants to write I guess. I shouldn’t have been snooping anyways. 

I pull out my class schedule. Tomorrow I have classes starting at 8:00 and ending at 5:00, with a big gap from 10:00 to 11:00 and smaller gaps between the other classes. I’m majoring in Biology and have Creative Writing as my minor. 

I should ask the group their schedules. We are all in the same core classes but I don’t know what time they have them. I guess I can do that later. For now, I need dinner. Maybe I could have them come over and eat here too and we could discuss schedules.   
James: Hey want to come over to my dorm for dinner tonight?  
Mike: what about your roommate he seems pretty shy Jazzy might kill him  
Jazzy: hey! I’m not that spastic!  
Carter: .....  
Jazzy: Carter! I’m disappointed in you  
James: he’s not here now  
Mike: ok sure  
Carter: I’ll be there  
Jazzy: me too  
James: k I can have food ready in like 15 minutes   
Mike: k

I walk over to the kitchen and search around for a pot. I find one and fill it with water, glaring at it as I set it on the stove. “Boil. Hurry up and boil you dumb pot I want my macaroni,” I hiss at it. Once I have the box of Kraft macaroni, I realize that I don’t have butter or milk. Crap. I text Mike.  
James: do you have butter and milk  
Mike: I have butter  
James: ok bring it plz  
Mike: sure thing  
Still no milk. Damn it. I text Jazzy.  
James: hey do u have milk?  
Jazzy: no sry

Hey at least the water’s boiling now. I dump the noodles in and check the time. 5:46. At 5:53 I need to take them off. Wait a minute. I haven’t checked the fridge. I open the fridge and what do you know? A carton of milk, like they give you in school lunches. I shut the door. It’s not mine, that’s stealing. I open the door. I do need milk to make dinner and I don’t need the whole thing. Debating, I finally grab it and open it. There’s no going back now.

Jazzy, Mike, and Carter arrive just as I’m pouring in the milk. Mike hands me a stick of butter. I unwrap it and plop it in. “Jamie!” Jazzy gasps, staring at the pot. “What?” I’m confused. “You put in a whole stick of butter instead of half like the box says. I think that’s great. Jazzy doesn’t appear to,” Mike cuts in. Oops. 

It’s very buttery. But delicious, probably more delicious than normal. We eat standing at the counter, extra buttery Kraft Mac and Cheese and instant coffee that Carter brought. Just like old times, minus Alex. We’re about to discuss schedules when Isaac walks in the door.

He’s holding something cupped in his hands. It makes a little squeaky chirp. I think it’s a baby bird. He doesn’t acknowledge us, and walks straight to his desk, pulling something from one of his drawers and making a tiny nest with it on the desk. He puts the little bird in it and stares at it a moment before opening his over hand to reveal several dead crickets. He puts one in his finger and offers it to the bird. It chirps a little and gobbles it up. 

After a moment I realize that the entire group is just silently staring at him. That’s not creepy at all. He’s so focused on the bird I don’t think he really noticed us. So when Jazzy loudly goes, “Hi! We’re James’ friends!”, he practically jumps out of his skin. 

He whirls around and looks at us. He gently picks up the nest with the bird in it and mumbles something before hustling into his room and gently closing the door. I can hear the tiny chirps of the bird, probably being fed more crickets.

“So, what are your guy’s schedules?” I ask, bringing everyone’s attention back. We talk for a while about that. Jazzy is minoring in Creative Writing also and has it at the same time as me. All of us except Mike have core classes at the same time. He took a year of no school after high school, so he started college at the same time as us. That wasn’t his motivation, but it sure was a benefit. We all share the break from 10-11 which is really nice. 

Jazzy is the first to leave, followed by Mike and finally Carter. Once they leave I wash the dishes and put them away, trying to get in the habit of keeping things cleaner now that I share the space with someone else.

I walk over to Isaac’s door and knock. He opens the door a little, looking away from my face. “Um, how come you have the bird?” I ask, genuinely curious but also not knowing what else to ask. “She fell. The nest. Her wing’s bent,” he mumbles,, looking back at it still in the makeshift nest. “I-if it’s okay with you, uh, I’d like to keep her in my room until...” he trails off. “Of course! Can I see her?” He nods slowly and opens the door all the way. 

I walk over to where the bird is. The nest is made of a dress shirt. “Hey, uh, do you want an old t shirt or something so you don’t mess up this?” He looks at me. “That would be nice, thanks.” I grab a shirt from my room and Isaac picks up the bird while I make the new nest. He smiles a little at the bird. “Thanks,” he says quietly, still staring down at the bird. “Does it have a name?” He nods. “Her name’s Caroline, because she’s a Carolina wren.” 

I reach my hand forward and gently touch her head. I gasp. It’s a baby bird and it’s fluffy I love this little floof so much. Isaac holds a cricket out to me and raises his eyebrows a little. Yes of course I want to feed the bird why would I not want to feed the bird. I take the cricket and mimic what I saw Isaac do a moment ago. Little Floof- I mean Caroline - eats it and chirps at me. Isaac pulls out a water bottle and dips his finger in it, then drips the water into the bird’s mouth. I notice that part of his pinky finger is missing. I want to ask but that would be rude, so I won’t. 

A while later, back in my room, I check my phone. I have a few texts from the group chat.  
Mike: Alex do you have a dorm yet?  
Alex: yeah  
Alex: wish i could be with you guys  
Jazzy: us too  
Jazzy: oh hey y’all should meet my roommate sometime shes cool  
Carter: mine to  
Alex: -_-  
Mike: ...sorry Al  
Mike: over winter break you should come down here  
Alex: ugh that’s like an eight hour drive  
Alex: obviously I’m coming tho  
Jazzy: yes!  
James: I GOT TO FEED TINY FLOOF  
Mike: u good there pal?  
James: OMIGOSH IT WAS SOFT AND FLOOFY AND IT CHIRPD AT ME I HAVE ITS APROVAL  
Jazzy: IM SO CONFUSED BUT SHOUTING IS FUN  
Mike: Jazzy stop shouting and James tell us  
James: the baby bird!! Isaac let me feed it and I touched her head and ajadjdjsisoadnjaiax the floor  
Carter: you spoke to him?  
James: ...he’s my roommate? Yes I spoke to him  
Carter: what’s his name?  
James: Isaac  
Mike: wait a minute  
James: nope not that Isaac  
Mike: k

They eventually lose interest in actual conversation and spam memes and French curses instead. Great. I put them on silent and text Peggy, Lynn, and May. Well, I text May. She’s 14 now, so she has a phone, but Peggy and Lynn, only being 8 and 10, don’t yet.   
James: Lynn I got to pet a baby bird today!  
Lynn: I am so jealous of you right now  
James: BWAHAHAAHAHA  
Lynn: D:  
James: my roommate brought her in cuz she fell out of the nest  
Lynn: you have a roommate?  
James: yeah his names Isaac he doesn’t talk much but he seems cool  
Lynn: he brought a bird obviously he’s cool  
James: I gtg now, say hi to Peggy and Lynn for me?  
Lynn: yup

Even though it’s only 9:00, I decide to get ready to sleep. I want to get up early and make sure I know my way to my classes before I actually need to be there. 

I stare at the ceiling of my room. There’s a crack on it that looks sort of like an elephant. I smile at it. I think I’m going to like college.


	9. The Old and the New

It’s dark when I wake up. I’m still super tired, so there’s no way it’s actually morning. I check the time. 3:14. I still have a long while to sleep. I’m about to lay back down when I hear whispering coming from Isaac’s room. 

“Sh, sh, I didn’t mean to wake you. It’s okay, go back to sleep.” Who is he talking to? I sit up and rub my eyes before shuffling over to his door. I tap on it gently. He opens it, looking wide awake, still in his dress shirt and pants, although his tie is off now. 

“S-sorry about that,” he stutters. “I accidentally wo- Caroline, I accidentally woke her up.” “Oh, she didn’t wake me up. I was just wondering if someone was here and got confused,” I say. He looks relieved. I notice his laptop open and lit up on his desk. Huh. I’m brought out of my thoughts by Isaac saying something to me. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. What’d you say?” “Oh, uh, I was asking if you wanted any coffee. I made a pot a while ago, and it’s still hot.” 

I chuckle a little. “I’m going back to sleep.” He looks confused. Then he checks his watch, and realization flashes over his face. “I-I see now. Must have l-lost track of time,” he mumbles. “Well, goodnight. Morning? Either way,” I say, leaving in time to see him take his pot of coffee back into his room and close the door. 

I’m not quite asleep when I hear his door open again, and then the fridge door. Through the crack I left open of my door I see him grab the carton of milk and retreat once again into the dorm. I don’t know why, but now I’m wondering if you could put coffee instead of milk into cereal.

I hear birds chirping and yawn. Hm. This must be actual morning now. I check the time. 6:48, a much more reasonable time to be awake. I have to admit, that was pretty funny, for multiple reasons. A, that Isaac was apologizing to a baby bird for waking it up, and b, the expression on his face when he saw the time. 

I walk out of my room and see Isaac sitting at the little table with Little Floof I her nest in front of him. He’s feeding her some more bugs. He notices me and looks up, raising a hand in greeting. I sit down across from him and watch Little Floof get fed. 

“Hey Isaac, what are you going to do with Little Floof while you’re in classes?” “Little Floof?” He asks, smiling a little. “Well, yeah. Caroline is her name, but Little Floof is her honorary title, I mean, look at her.” He nods at that. Really, you can’t argue. She is the definition of little floof. “I d-don’t suppose the teachers will let me carry her around,” he says, looking down at her with admiration. “She should be okay if I leave food and water.” I nod. “Okay.”

I turn to walk out the door, I want to go see Mike and hang out for our last hour before classes. “Uh, James?” I turn around. He just points at my outfit. I’m still wearing spaceship pajamas. They’re comfortable, okay? I sigh. “Thanks,” I say, before ducking into my room to change. 

When I come back out, Isaac is putting Little Floof on the floor to walk around. He gives me a small nod to say goodbye and I walk out to the door, heading to Mike’s dorm. 

I knock on the door and hear a small crash before the door opens. Mike opens the door. “Hey James,” he whispers, “Jaden - my roommate- is still sleeping, want to go to your dorm?” I nod and we trek back to room 237.

Isaac is gone when we get there. I’m not sure if he’s actually left or if he’s in his room. Mike and I eat pop tarts and argue over whether it’ll be actual classes today or an orientation type thing. 

Eight o’clock sneaks up on us, and before we know it, we’re rushing to get to class on time. I’m headed to Biostatistics, he’s going to Economic Theory.

Two hours later, at 10:00, I exit the classroom, and Mike is standing outside the door. He smirks, holding out his hand. I reluctantly hand over five dollars and glare at him. 

“So,” he drawls, “how was your first class?” “Quit rubbing it in, yes it was a real class not orientation,” I say, rolling my eyes at him.

All of our friends have agreed to meet in Jazzy’s dorm at 10:00, so we head there, or rather, Mike heads there and I follow, because I can’t navigate campus to save my life.

I knock on the door, and it is immediately opened by Carter. We’re the last ones here. Jazzy, Alex, and a girl who must be Jazzy’s roommate are standing around the table talking over one another.

We walk over and I see the new girl. She has dark skin and short, sort of spiky black hair. She and Jazzy seem to be talking in French, but I can’t tell all too well with Mike, Alex, and Carter talking too.

“You’re Mike and James then? I’m Marie, nice to meet you,” she greets us, pausing her conversation with Jazzy. 

After introductions, we realize that we don’t really have anything to do, so we just stand around the table eating from a box of cereal left by the previous inhabitants of the dorm. Mm. Stale Cheerios. 

Hours later, after my classes, I’m heading back to my dorm with a bucketload of homework. 

I hear typing and the occasional soft cheep from behind Isaac’s closed door. He probably has work to do too. I haven’t asked him what he’s majoring in, I wonder if we share any classes and I didn’t notice. I make a mental note to ask him later.

Once in my own room, I attempt to start doing research for my paper, but I end up getting distracted and find myself playing geometry dash. I sigh. I need to stop procrastinating all the time, or else college will be just like high school, bad grades and having to finish projects in the past minutes before midnight. 

I get what I consider to be a decent chunk of my work done and shut the lid of my computer, pausing to appreciate the little click it makes. 

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, seeing a text. I unlock my phone and nearly drop it. It’s from Isaac. He responded.  
Isaac: I apologize for the absence of communication in the past years. I can no longer communicate via phone. If you send me an address I will be able to write.  
James: [campus post office address]

I don’t hesitate before sending it. I probably should have thought for a moment before giving him an address, seeing as I don’t exactly know him well. I guess we’ll see. I don’t even know if he will end up writing to me. 

I get up from my chair. I don’t want to think about it right now. He’ll either write or he won’t, and there’s nothing I can do about it. 

I hear a crash from Isaac’s room and I’m startled out of my thoughts. He opens his door a crack. “You good?” I ask from the doorframe of my room. He opens the door a little more and nods. “Sorry about t-the crash.” He quickly ducks back into his room and closes the door. 

I remember talking to Old Isaac in the ambulance. It’s creepy how much Old Isaac and New Isaac are similar. Obviously the name, but also the way they both seemed to be afraid of speaking loudly, the dark hair and eyes. I shake my head. My brain is making connections that aren’t actually there.

Too much thinking is energy draining. I need dinner. I don’t know if I have any food other than boxed macaroni, and I know I don’t have butter or milk, so I should probably go to the grocery store at some point. For tonight, however, the vending machines are much easier and closer.

“Hey Isaac,” I call, “I’m going down to the vending machines, do you want anything?” I get a quiet no thanks in response. I shrug and head out the door.

I walk for a while, thinking about vending machines and the Isaacs and Little Floof, enjoying the small thud that my shoes make on the carpeted hallway floor. At the vending machines I select Cheetos and a coke and start eating as I walk. 

Back in the dorm, I reach for my phone, then see my cheesy fingers and think better of it. Instead I just close my eyes and let the crunching noise of the Cheetos fill my world. After I’ve finished my Cheetos, I use the coke to fizz away the bits stuck in my teeth. Who needs a toothbrush, am I right?

I wonder if Little Floof could eat Cheetos. Probably not, at least until she’s fully grown. I feel a little sad when I remember that I won’t get to see Little Floof when she’s grown, because her wing will be better and Isaac will let her go. 

This dorm is pretty boring. I should bring in some board games or something at some point. Although, I doubt that Isaac will want to play. He tolerates me, and let me feed Little Floof, but I’m not sure he would choose to spend more time around me. 

Thinking about that reminds me of something I was going to do earlier - ask Isaac about classes. It’d be nice if he’s in some of my classes, I could ask him if I was absent one day, or if I don’t understand the work. I’ll ask him when he comes out of his room for dinner. 

I don’t want to go over to Mike’s dorm, but it’s super boring here. I make the executive decision to initiate communication with Isaac. Walking over to his door, I consider what exactly I’m going to say, eventually deciding on asking about Little Floof.

I knock. There’s no answer, but I know he’s inside. “Isaac?” I call, thinking maybe he didn’t hear my knock or was focused on something else. There’s still no response. I pause for a moment before heading back into my room, leaving the door open behind me.

Aside from the occasional cheep from Little Floof, I don’t hear anything coming from his room. I didn’t consider that he might be asleep, probably should have, I think, feeling a little guilty. Oh well. He didn’t wake up, so no harm done.

I lean against the wall and close my eyes for a moment. I’ll talk to him later, maybe I’ll even get to feed Little Floof.

One moment I’m thinking about Little Floof, and the next I find myself slumped against the wall in the dark. I must have fallen asleep. I check the time. It’s 9:02, I was asleep for a little less than two hours. This is probably a good thing, I hope it’ll help me stay awake tomorrow. 

Picking up my phone, I don’t see any texts. Unusual, but pretty nice. I stretch out my back and move my neck side to side, wincing at the cracking noise from sleeping with my neck bent. 

I see Isaac, silhouetted by the light from the open fridge. All the other lights are offs. He’s putting away groceries, it looks like. I walk out of my room and into the kitchen.

“Hey Isaac,” I say while flipping on a light. He jumps and whirls around to look at me. “Didn’t mean to scare you, sorry.” He shakes his head. “Oh. I d-didn’t know you you were awake.”

“Actually, I wasn’t until like four seconds ago. How’s Little Floof?” He stares at me a moment before going to his room, returning with the bird cupped in his palms. He sets her down on the table and retreats a few steps. I walk over and sit down at the table, smiling at her. 

I remember what I was thinking about earlier. “Hey, I forgot to ask you earlier, what are you majoring in? I’m majoring in Biology, and Creative Writing’s my minor.”

He pauses a moment and then answers, keeping his eyes focused on Little Floof. “Philosophy, minor is P-Political Science.”

“Cool.” I don’t know what else to say, so we both just stare at the baby bird in silence. “Do you know how to play blackjack?” I ask, getting an idea. He nods without looking up at me. “My friends and I have been playing it every Friday night for, let’s see, two years maybe? I dunno, but anyways. Do you want to join this time? We don’t play for money, just pride and occasionally candy.” 

Now he looks up at me, obviously hesitant. “I d-don’t know,” he starts. “It’ll be fun, and you can always leave if you want.” “I-I think I have something I have to do that d-day,” he says, looking very interested in the floor. I shrug. “Okay, maybe another time.” He gives a noncommittal shrug, and I take that as a sign to stop pestering him. 

Hours later, I’m laying on my bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, trying to find the crack that looks like an elephant. I spot it, but it doesn’t really look all too much like an elephant, more like a blob. I frown. I like elephants. I know I’m falling asleep, and I let it happen. The little elephant blob is the last thing I see before I drift away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know where the story is going, but I’m having trouble getting there, so if anyone is reading this, bare with me, I think it’ll get better soon.


	10. Isaac and Isaac

The weeks pass by uneventfully. It’s already October 12. I see Jazzy, Mike, Carter, and Marie a lot, and we’ve accepted Marie into the group. She fits right in. Alex grows a little more distant, but that’s to be expected when he’s that far away. Isaac still won’t speak to me unless I ask him a question and almost never leaves his room, except to make coffee and go to class. Little Floof is growing fast, and I think Isaac will release her soon. 

Classes are done for today and I have finally gotten my homework done. I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. 

I hear Isaac’s door open. That’s weird. My door is open, and I see him shuffle out, his face pale. He just stands there, staring at me. I stand up and walk closer.

“Isaac? You good?” I ask, concerned. That’s when I notice what he’s holding in his hands. Little Floof. She’s not moving, her body is limp. I reach to touch her but Isaac pulls her away, backing away from me.

He cradles her by his chest and looks at me. He looks sad, but it’s more than that. The way he’s backing away, how he looks at me, it’s like he’s afraid of me. 

“Isaac?” I ask again, taking a step towards him. He flinches back and attempts to go back into his room. I don’t really think, I just instinctively reach out a hand to grab his shoulder, trying to get him to look at me.

He darts, and runs straight into his room, the door closing behind him. 

I pause a second. I got attached to Little Floof, and I know I’m going to miss her. I would imagine Isaac would feel the same way, but he looks panicked. I’m worried. After my moment of contemplation, I make a decision and push open his door, entering his room.

There’s pages and pages filled with dense writing all over his desk, a few spilling onto the floor. The rest of the room is pristine, the bed made perfectly and nothing lying around. Not even Little Floof’s nest. I see Isaac in the corner, knees to his chest, staring at Little Floof’s body, which is laying in front of him. I walk slowly over. “Isaac?” I say it softly, trying not to startle him. 

He looks up, but not at me. The space in front of me. It almost feels like rewatching something I’ve already seen. In that moment, I see it. It’s Isaac. Isaac Edmunds. He screams, the same things that I heard three years ago.

I freeze. I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid to move closer to him but I can’t leave him. I don’t even know what’s happening. Why isn’t he looking at me, why is he screaming, I don’t understand any of it. I try to talk to him. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” I mentally kick myself. He’s obviously not okay. His scream turned to a whimper, and he’s rocking back and forth, staring at the space between us. “Isaac?” He briefly looks at me and then seems to be looking back and forth between me and the empty space, rocking back and forth, his breathing accelerating. 

“It’s here,” he whimpers, tears welling in his eyes. “What is?” I ask, confused and getting scared. He curls tighter, holding his head in his hands and stuttering incomprehensible words. “Isaac?” “They’re g-gonna f-find me,” he repeats, his voice rising a little. “Who is going to find you?” He doesn’t respond, he’s breathing so quickly now I think he’s hyperventilating.

I fumble to grab my phone from my pocket. I hesitate a split second before calling Mike. He knows the most about Isaac, and he might know what to do. When I look back at Isaac I see him slumped in the corner, passed out. 

“James? What’s up?”  
“Mike! I need your help.”  
“Are you okay? What’s going on?”  
“Isaac - just come over, please, and   
hurry, I don’t know what to do.”  
“I’ll be there as fast as I can, bye.”

It seems that it takes forever for Mike to get here, but it probably is only a few minutes. 

I tell him everything, from start to finish. He looks almost as confused as I do, and takes a few seconds to respond after I finish talking. 

We decide to take him to the ER, because he still hasn’t woken up. We use my car because it’s closer, but Mike is driving, with me and Isaac in the back seat. He’s light, so it didn’t take too much work to get him into the car. 

Things move quickly after the car ride, and soon we’re sitting in the waiting room, and Isaac is somewhere else. A doctor walks out and I sit up. 

“Which of you was with Mr. Harrison when he lost consciousness?” I say it was me, and he takes me to another room. “He was hyperventilating just before, correct?” I nod. “That’s what caused him to faint. He should be fine, but he’s very panicked, and keeps telling us that something is after him. Was someone chasing him prior to this?” “No, he kept saying that ‘they’ were going to find us. Nobody was after him or me.” He looks concerned. “Has he ever fainted before or been acting this paranoid?” I start to shake my head then respond, “A few years ago, he did almost the exact same thing. I don’t know about in between now and then, I haven’t kept in touch with him.” He nods. “Thanks. I’ve called his father to pick him up, if you wait a few minutes you’ll see him in his way out.”

I wait back in the waiting room. After a moment, a man walks in and I hear him ask for Isaac. He then disappears into another part of the building before coming back out, dragging Isaac behind him. Isaac is looking around, still looking panicked. His dad is telling him something, but I can’t hear what. It doesn’t seem to be calming him down, only making him more agitated. I catch a glimpse of his dad shutting the door of a car and then he’s driving off.

Mike drives back to campus and follows me back to my dorm. The moment the door is closed he turns around and looks at me. “Okay. You told me before but I only caught about half of it. What the hell happened?” 

“The bird. Isaac was just standing in the doorway, holding her. He was staring at me, not talking or anything. He freaked out when I tried to get him to talk to me. He ran into his room and I came in after him. He was curled up in the corner. Mike, I have never seen anyone look that scared before in my life. And remember how I told you that Isaac Edmunds looked at the space in front of me and screamed at something to go away? Isaac did that. He kept saying that something was after us, it was going to find us. He started breathing super fast, and then he just, well, passed out.”

“You should get the bird out of his room, for when he gets back.” Oh yeah, I didn’t think of that. I should.

I walk into him dorm and Mike follows me. “Dang, you should take notes about this, James.” I look at him in confusion. He gestures around at the room. “It’s clean. I can barely see your floor.” I glare at him and mutter some choice words. I pick up Little Floof gently. Poor thing. 

“Hey James,” I hear Mike say. “What is it?” He hesitates. “This is sort of invading his privacy, but you should see this.” I walk over to the desk where he’s standing. He points to the pages strewn across it. I take a closer look. “What is this?” I mutter. It’s not in English. It’s some weird code of letters, numbers, and symbols. Every single page, of the dozens, maybe hundreds, of pages. And they’re not just notes. Full pages, crammed with the writing, some written along the guidelines, but some writing in spirals or just added in every space available, at odd angles and curves. 

“You said he almost never leaves the room. Is this what he’s been doing for hours and hours every day?” I shake my head. “I don’t know.” That’s an understatement. I have no idea what’s going on. 

I realize I’m still holding Little Floof. I want to bury her, but we don’t have anywhere to do so, so Mike takes her and leaves the dorm. I don’t ask what he’s going to do with her. Mike likes the cats that live just outside the building and feeds them sometimes. I’ll leave that there. 

I stare at the pages. I want to know what they say, but it feels wrong to go through it, so I won’t. 

After Mike leaves I go into my room and sit on my bed. I don’t know what to do. I’m not in the mood to hang out with my friends, and for once my work is all done. It’s almost 8. I stand up and walk into the kitchen. I have food here now, which I’m very glad for at the moment. I pull out a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, milk, and a bowl and eat at the counter. 

After a moment of thought, I pick up my phone and pull up my messages to Isaac. He said he can’t talk over text anymore, but he hasn’t sent a letter, so I may as well try to reach him. I tap on the space for a message and then hesitate. What do I say? 

I guess I’ll talk to him when he comes back. If I were him I wouldn’t come back just for Thursday and Friday, so I might not see him until Monday. Then again, he’s probably a better student than me. Either way, I don’t need to text him now. 

After I finish my cereal and wash my bowl, I head back into my room, racking my brain for an idea of something to do.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and my contemplation is brought to an end. I’ve been ordered to come to Jazzy and Marie’s room to watch some movie, and apparently my life is in danger if I fail to show up. I suppose that’s that, then.

Of course the movie had to be two and a half hours long. At least that means two and a half hours of eating all of their food. It does serve its purpose, and I forget about Isaac until I’m back in my room at a little after 10:30.

For the first time in years, I dream about Isaac. He’s still 15 year old Isaac, not how he is now. Just standing, staring at me. Suddenly he grins, and his head turns into Little Floof’s limp one, neck broken at a sickening angle. “James, I told you to look in front of you,” he/the head says in a singsong voice. “You didn’t.” It lunges forward, beak open and spurting blood, eyes dead and glassy. “YOU DIDN’T! YOU DIDN’T! YOU DIDN’T!” It chants, louder and louder, until I think it’s going to burst my ears. Then silence. The bird head is melting, covering Isaac’s head and body with blood and bits of flesh. His head is slicked down with the sticky redness, and he opens his eyes to look at me. The whites seem brighter, the only part of his face not covered in the melted bird. He’s smiling, a cold, mirthless smile. He seems to be crumpling in upon himself, but he keeps eye contact. “It’s still right in front of you, James,” he laughs, blood bubbling in his throat and onto his chin. I can’t speak or move, I can only watch as him body dissolves like the bird’s. I want to look away, I’m trying to look away, to wake up, but I can’t do anything. Even as his legs are turned into a chunky soup or human and bird, he doesn’t look away. A chunk of flesh slides off of his bony arm with a squelch, splashing into the growing pool of ooze below him. I try harder than ever to wake myself up, to at least look away, but I just can’t. It hurts to watch, but there’s nothing I can do, I can’t even vomit, which I sure would be doing if I was awake. All that’s left of him is his torso, arm bones protruding, bare of skin and muscle. It’s just a dream, I try to remind myself. His head falls into the pool, only standing out from the other chunks because of the whites of his eyes. Just a dream, I try to think again, still failing. His eyes still seem to be staring into my own even as they flop from his skull and float on the mush like meatballs in spaghetti.


End file.
